We will serve the Lord

[Introduction]

In the midst of a challenging time when we are deeply divided as a nation, there is a way in which we can respond that will set us all on the right path once again. There was a time Israel’s history where they were presented with a choice after a long campaign against their enemies. At the end, God recounts how he had been with them the whole time and now they are faced with a choice they have to make. One that God will not make for them. Listen to the story found in Joshua 24:1-25

Joshua 24:1–25 NRSV

1 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods. 3 Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac; 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. 5 Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in its midst; and afterwards I brought you out. 6 When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 7 When they cried out to the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did to Egypt. Afterwards you lived in the wilderness a long time. 8 Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan; they fought with you, and I handed them over to you, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. 9 Then King Balak son of Zippor of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent and invited Balaam son of Beor to curse you, 10 but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you; so I rescued you out of his hand. 11 When you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I handed them over to you. 12 I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove out before you the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. 13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and towns that you had not built, and you live in them; you eat the fruit of vineyards and oliveyards that you did not plant. 14 “Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” 16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; 17 for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; 18 and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.” 19 But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. 20 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!” 22 Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 The people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and him we will obey.” 25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.

Trouble in the text

If you caught verse 14, it told you there is a problem here. After all these things the Lord has done for them, provided for them, made a path for them, they are still following the gods of Egypt alongside the Lord. Joshua is confronting the people after this tiring war campaign to conquer the promised land and after all these years, the people still are clinging to old ways. God has liberated his people so why do they still continue to worship the false gods of Egypt who were powerless in the face of the God who rescued them with power and might?

Some bible scholars say this generation of Israelites may have been raised in the wilderness but they took on the same habits as their parents who taught them to worship both their old ways and their new way. Perhaps they saw nothing wrong with this. Maybe they thought they were playing it safe just in case this did not work out. We can make many guesses as to why they did such a thing which to us seems ridiculous.

Joshua and God have had enough at this point. There is no promise left unfulfilled. The liberation from Egypt is complete. They have a new land, the promised land. When are they going to realize what they have in front of them? Joshua and God confront them with verse 14 with is that pivot between remembering what God has done for them and what are they doing to do in response.

They have a choice, continue in their dual lives where they try to worship the false gods of Egypt and The God of Israel. Or, are they finally ready to commit fully to one life with God. Joshua had watched two generations of the Israelites waffle between following God and following the false gods of Egypt. He finally asked this question at the end of his time with them, asking them to recommit themselves to the covenant with God that had agreed to long ago.

Trouble in the world

Lets turn now to our own world, our own divided lives. Are we dedicated to serve the Lord or do we also try and serve our own interests alongside God’s? Are we focused on God part time or full time? Are our interests divided between God and the world? If we honestly answer these questions it is hard to say we are focused on serving God above all else. We have bits and pieces of our lives divided between loving God and loving our neighbor but it does not take long before something happens and we lose sight of what we should be doing and do what our human nature wants us to.

As I talked about last week, it does not take long before we are divided and angry at each other and looking down on others because they like this politician or that form of government. And we also talked about how we are fooling ourselves when we think people in power and those that seek power are serving our interest selflessly. It is focused on winning and losing and arguing about just about any subject and we separate ourselves from those who think differently than we do. We stop loving people as our neighbor because we disagree and think less of them.

I ask all of us today, are you willing to commit yourselves in more than word to serving the Lord? Are you willing to serve God faithfully by loving God and loving neighbor as yourself?

Grace in the text

Joshua made that choice a long time ago when working alongside Moses. He has demonstrated his whole life as service to the Lord. If you think about it, Joshua was a great example of a leader being trained up and following the example of his predecessor.

Joshua was allowed to go all the places Moses went. It is ironic that we don’t pay much attention to Joshua when he is Moses’ scribe but when he is put in charge of Israel, he is able to transition the people from wandering in the wilderness to a nation of warriors who conquered many nations.

God’s grace with Joshua is extended to the people as well. If we think of the statement in verse 14 about the people still following the false gods of Egypt, God’s grace, not their obedience has carried them to where they are. Think about that. Despite their divided loyalties, God still fulfilled the promises made. After all the promises have been fulfilled, after they have been liberated from slavery, delivered from wandering in the desert as a people with no home, God has given them a home.

The question now is, after all this, are you now ready to serve me alone. Despite their many failures to obey the first of the 10 commandments, God still extends mercy and grace by offering once more that choice of serving God. They can make the choice now to follow in Joshua’s footsteps and serve the Lord wholeheartedly.

Grace in the world

I am grateful to not be left in the chaos and anxiousness of the world. I am grateful that by God’s grace we will persevere one way or the other. When I look back at my own life, I should not be where I am today, yet I can see God’s promises being fulfilled. I can see God at work with individuals.

I am also grateful that the answer to our problems lies with our ability to serve God with our whole hearts. Jesus Christ has given you the model to follow. He has endured and known any struggle we have encountered. When we choose to follow the model Christ set for us, we walk forward in God’s grace which makes all things possible.

Regardless of your circumstances, regardless of who is president, who is in congress, regardless of any human in any position of power, when we focus on serving God, other things tend to work out. I am not saying that people will do the right thing because you are but to be honest, if we Christians are to be a light to the world, it won’t be by acting foolishly or being angry at people you disagree with.

Did you know that Christians, even in the midst of persecution still treated people with the plague and illness. Even in the midst of war, they can bind the wounds of people from either side. Perhaps we can take a lesson from those who have laid the foundation and made an impact to the world by showing what loving our neighbor as ourselves looks like when done unconditionally. This same Spirit that has been placed in you can work through you all things impossible.

Stop trusting in people and start trusting in God by pledging yourself just like Joshua did. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. It did not matter to him what the rest of them answered as it would not change his decision. You can be the sole person doing the right thing and be hated by the world. When you are serving the Lord, that is the only one who matters and that is God.